The human eye includes a fundus region. Diagnosis and monitoring of various pathologies or diseases can benefit from high-quality imaging of the fundus region. The first commercial fundus cameras were marketed over four decades ago and for the first time allowed clinicians to record retinal pathology on high-quality, photographic film. Fundus photography has since become a useful tool for ophthalmologists to accurately detect, diagnose and treat retinal disease. Since its introduction, fundus camera technology has grown significantly to accommodate the needs of its end-users, namely ophthalmologists and trained ophthalmic photographers.
Although commercially-available fundus cameras have advanced significantly since their introduction, fundus camera design and operation has largely remained unchanged. These cameras are often mounted on a table and are permanent fixtures, requiring patients to sit down and rest their head on a chin rest to obtain static images of the fundus. Further, commercially-available fundus cameras generally require trained ophthalmic technicians to produce correctly composed, focused, and exposed images of the retina. While portable hand-held cameras have been commercially produced, many have failed to gain traction within the ophthalmic community due to various deficiencies such as high cost, difficulty in operation such as involving alignment or focusing issues, or otherwise providing sub-standard image quality.